Lotus Blossoms
by KatalystSky
Summary: Vol 4 ep 12 from Ren's perspective. Written in 3rd person. Renora R/F if you like *Spoilers for Vol 4 finale*
1. Black Lotus

***SCREECH***

Already running on patience, Ren felt the last of his self-control dissipate into a violent rage. He had let his emotions take control of him, something he would never usually do. He was furious at this creature that had killed his family, that was trying to kill his friends. He was also sad. A deep sadness engulfed him in a way that he had hoped never to feel again. All of the pain and sorrow of losing his parents swelled inside him again like fuel for the raging fire inside of him. He had so many emotions swirling around inside.

He ran up the tree behind him for a better shot and began firing wildly, desperate to draw the horned devil away from his fallen friends. He was running on pure adrenaline, thinking of nothing more than his desire to protect his new family and to avenge his old. He should have known better. Before he could register what had happened, he found himself slammed into a wall, pinned between the Nuckalevee's monstrous claws. As he saw the beast prepare its fatal blow he couldn't help but cover his face and think about everyone he was leaving behind, Jaune, Ruby… _Nora._ He thought back to how they first met and how they grew together and it comforted him, though he knew deep down that he would be dead within a matter of seconds.

Seconds passed. He was not dead. He uncovered his eyes, slowly, unsure of what to expect. The beast had made his lunge, but did not hit him. But who..? He heard one of Nora's adorable sounds and looked up slightly. There she was, hanging by her hammer. She was struggling to stay up but she was unharmed. He smiled as she got a better grip. He couldn't help but look up her long slender legs and her powerful thighs, easily capable of killing a man and he smirked slightly at the sight of her simple white panties. She may have thought they blended right in but-

"Stop looking!" Nora shouted, crossing her legs in embarrassment. Ren startled at being caught and covered his eyes as per her request. He, of course, could not see the wry grin of teasing joy on her face at his guilt.

Sadly the cute moment could not last. They seemed to forget that they were suspended by the claws of the beast that killed hundreds of people, including Ren's family. Ren looked in horror as the beast hurled Nora off to the side like a beetle, depleting her aura completely. His rage grew even hotter and he began to fight to break free, stabbing and shooting at the only thing holding him up. With a helpful distraction from Jaune, the creature dropped Ren. He was done with holding back. This monster had killed his family, destroyed his home, hurt his friends and almost killed his Nora. It was going to pay, no matter what the cost.

Ren ran towards it, guns blazing and eyes wide. There was almost a look of insanity creeping in as he rushed in. This was unlike him, Nora was always the berserk emotional fighter. The monster knocked him back but that did not stop him. He ran forward again.

"Ren, knock it off!" he heard Jaune yell.

He didn't care. Ren would be damned before he let this monster kill another person that he cared about. He didn't want to stop and think that he might fail. The beast grabbed him and flung him, knocking his weapons from his hands. He hit the ground hard and felt the last of his aura leave him. That didn't matter. The adrenaline was still there. He got back up. The monster prepared to charge, kicking the dust behind it. Ren prepared to lunge when suddenly he saw a pink streak out of the corner of his eye. *Oof* It was a heavy pink streak. He couldn't believe she was doing this to him. He looked out from under the building and saw Jaune holding the monster back. He tried to run out and help his friends, but Nora stopped him. She gripped his hand tightly and wouldn't let go.

"Nora, let go. Nora! They're going to get hurt if we don't-" *Smack*

Ren stopped, shocked. She had hit him, but why?

"No. I won't let you kill yourself like this," Nora said, keeping her face down, "After everything we've been through… I won't let it end." She looked up at him.

Ren looked at her and all he could see was that little girl from so long ago. How she had been scared, hungry, dirty and shivering in fear right under that very building. He had lost his family that night but she had lost hers so long before. He let his vengeance and anger overtake him so much that he never stopped to think of what would happen if he did die. He was all that she had left from that time. They were each others only family for so long. It would have broken her heart. The adrenaline started to fade and he began thinking more clearly. He still wanted to defeat this beast, but not just for him anymore. He reached down and pulled out his father's knife then looked at Nora his eyes full of doubt. She wrapped his hand around the hilt.

"We can _do_ this." Her eyes shone with determination and confidence, just some of the qualities that he loved so much about her.

They stepped out from under the building with a new drive to take out this creature. Ruby took charge and told everyone where they needed to go.

"Ren, Jaune and I will take care of it's arms."

"I'll take care of the horse."

"And I'll take care the rest."

Ren ran over to Jaune to begin their part of the plan. Jaune clapped him on the back and smiled knowingly at his dear friend and brother in arms.

"I'm glad to see that Nora talked some sense into you."

"More like knocked it into me." Ren corrected, feeling a little more at ease.

"Ha, that's our Nora." Jaune chuckled. It was nice that they could have this moment of camaraderie before risking their lives. Jaune passed Ren his shield and nodded to him.

"You know what to do."


	2. Blue Lotus

Ren placed himself up high, waiting for a sign. After hearing the demon's pained screech he knew that Ruby had succeeded in pinning down one arm. He pulled out his father's knife again, throwing it in such a way that it would hit the monster and make it focus on Jaune. It screeched again and Ren shouted "Now!" before leaping down and keeping the beast's other arm still long enough for Jaune to pin it down more permanently. Ren looked up to a nearby rooftop where Nora stood waiting, her short skirt billowing in the breeze.

Too focused to let that thought move any further, Ren called out to signal Nora. He watched as she let herself fall back through the air. He could only imagine her expression as she fell through the sky. With a sickening thud, drowned out by an even more nauseating screech, the monsters horse half was rendered completely useless. Ren stood and retrieved his father's knife from the monster and stood to face it. It screeched desperately, fully aware that it's last hour had come.

"For my mother," Ren thought, flipping the knife around and separating the beast from one arm.

"For my father," he continued, grabbing it's horn to hold it steady while he severed the other arm.

"Far all those that you've slain," he ignored the beast's pained writhing and slashed its abdomen.

"For myself!" Ren finished aloud, bracing himself for the next moment, the moment he had waited for his whole life. He opened his eyes and slashed at the monster that had destroyed his home, his family, his whole life. He poured all of his swirling, raging emotions out into the last attack and with the single fatal swoop he severed the Nuckalevee's head from its body.

Ren stood back, panting, as the monster dissolved into smoke. As the smoke rose higher, the stronger the waves of relief and joy hit him. They had done it, _he_ had done it. He was exhausted, but relieved. He drooped forward. Nothing could make this moment any better. Or at least he thought so until Nora launched herself into his arms.

He embraced the gleeful girl, feeling his love for her swell more than ever before. He had felt it before, multiple times throughout their time together on this journey, during their time at Beacon, even a few times before that. They both knew that everyone thought she was a simple ditz that he babysat purely out of obligation, but that was so far from the truth. Very few people knew it but really Nora helped Ren a lot more than Ren helped Nora. Sure he helped her study and taught her about aura and fed her and kept up with her crazy shenanigans to make sure she didn't get herself killed, but she took care of him too. She forced herself to grow up confident and outspoken because he could not, _would_ not do it himself. She knew how to live on the streets and helped keep him alive for the first five years before they were able to get into school. She helped balance him out and keep him calm. Whether it was intentional or not she was also the reason that he had learned to control his impulses and emotions. They had taught each other how to fight too, and how to fight _together._ She also helped him learn what it was like to actually have someone to fight for.

For years he was angry at his parents for making him move on without them. _Years._ Until he grew closer to Nora. They were closer than he had ever been with another person, then he realized how they had felt. It was then that he realized what it was like to have someone that you are willing to _die_ for. He held her tighter, not wanting to let go. He had loved her for so long, and he knew that she loved him. He wasn't blind, but he was cautious about not risking his relationship with his best friend and he knew Nora felt the same. He felt a pang in his chest, remembering the other teammate who agreed with that sentiment.

Pyrrha had waited, so desperate to protect her relationship with Jaune that she ended up waiting too late. Now Jaune doesn't sleep, barely eats, he constantly mourns the loss not only of a friend, partner and love, but he also mourns the loss of their potential. She waited until she died to tell him her feelings and now he lives on dreaming and mourning what could have been. Ren knew she wouldn't want him to do the same, and neither does he. She _deserved_ to know. It was time. He loosened his grip around Nora and stood up, pulling her up with him. He looked at her with as much courage he could muster and opened his mouth to let his feelings flow out, but she wasn't looking at him.

"Look!" she cried out.

Two giant Mistralian airships appeared, descending to pick them up. They landed quickly and hopped out with a puzzled look on their face, Ren turned and saw Jaune approaching one of the men and began inquiring about a stretcher for Qrow. Nora tugged at his sleeve and motioned to the rear airship.

"We should let them have some space, they deserve it." Nora whispered before picking up Magnahild and skipping towards the ship. He smiled. Even after such a monumental event she could still be so cute and childlike. He followed behind her and chuckled as she jumped up onto the edge of the ship with a "Bloop, hehe" and a sigh. The ship took off and Nora started giggling and "oooh"ing at the sights from above.

Some people didn't like how childlike she was, but Ren knew better than anyone that she deserved to act how she didn't get a childhood, she was forced to grow up to get them both through life. As they got older she began to regress and become more childlike as a coping mechanism and was more than happy to take over as the adult. He watched her lovingly as she admire the land around them as they headed towards Mistral. He remembered what he was going to do before the airships came, but he forgot the words. Seeing her here, alive and happily watching the world below, it made him speechless. But he knew what he wanted to do. He took her hand.

She snapped her head forward in shock. She was completely still, then, slowly, she turned to look at him. She looked down at their hands and adjusted them so that Ren's hand was on top, holding hers. She looked back up at him, the question burning in her eyes. " _You mean it? Like, together-together?"_

He nodded, " _Yes. Together-together."_

They intertwined their fingers as Nora scooted closer. She laid her head on his shoulder and he held her until they landed


	3. White Lotus

After they all landed Ruby focused on getting Qrow to the hospital. Jaune went off to procure rooms at an inn that he said was very highly recommended by a friend. Nora sighed, knowing which "friend" he had meant.

"Pyrrha told me all about it," Nora told Ren as they walked down the crowded street. "The inn is small compared to the city but it is very homey and quaint. It was one of her favorite places to stay when she needed to get away. We had hoped that we could go to Mistral as a team someday for a vacation together. We had it all planned out, well, mostly anyway." Nora smiled at the memory and began to tear up as they turned the corner down a less busy road. Ren wiped her tears away and held her against his chest.

"That would have been fun." he said quietly. It really would have been. Mistral is a beautiful city and he would have loved to have visited it with his whole team, especially since that would mean there was no danger waiting for them.

Ren held Nora's hand up to his mouth and kissed it, causing her to blush. He smirked teasingly at her and did it again. She got redder. He bowed in and kissed her forehead and she giggled. She turned and walked along faster before turning down an alley. Ren ran after her and turned into the alley to catch her. He was not expecting that she would catch him, or more precisely, his lips. She pressed her warm red lips against his. He grinned into the kiss and wrapped his arms around her, spinning her around. He pulled back and held his forehead against hers and rubbing his nose against hers.

"Boop!" She whispered softly to him. He picked her up again, this time not putting her down. He pressed his nose against hers.

"Boop." He echoed.

He leaned in and kissed her again, trying to adjust to the sensation. It wasn't like what people usually describe their first kiss to be. There weren't fireworks or harps and angels singing, but it was warm and welcoming and it made him feel like they were the only two people in the world at that moment. Nora turned her head slightly to open the kiss and suddenly the warmth of the kiss began to spread. Ren felt it spread from the top of his head to the tip of his…toes. Perhaps it wasn't such a good thing that they felt like the only two people in the world, after all, they still had adrenaline coursing through their blood, which was pumping faster and faster by the minute.

Ren, still holding Nora, quickly moved to rest her back against the wall of one of the buildings lining the empty alleyway. She wrapped one arm tighter around his waist and ran the other through his long hair. He place both of his hands on her rather voluptuous behind, purely to hold her up more stably, although that would not explain why he had chosen to place them inside her skirt to do so. Nora shivered, slightly shocked at Ren's forward behavior, but it wasn't entirely unexpected. That is what happens when one represses their emotions. She kissed him deeply and pulled gently at his hair, wrapping her strong legs around him. Ren had face monsters and men, but he almost died of shock when she did this. She didn't even have to use her semblance for it either.

He ran one hand back and forth, stroking her thigh, while holding her up with the other. She wrapped her legs tighter around them, pulling their excitement together. He kissed her feverishly on the mouth until he was absolutely sure he would pass out from lack of air. He pulled back slightly, panting, and gasped when Nora took the opportunity and nestled herself comfortably against his neck, kissing it gently. Until it wasn't very gentle any more. In fact she bit him rather hard and if he had not been buzzing with an excitement he had never allowed to surface before, he might have gotten a little mad at her. Instead, he returned the favor. He tilted her head to bare her whole neck to him and, like a vicious predator, he peppered it with kisses and light nips.

After a while he had begun to realize that if they kept going, it would be harder to make himself stop. He also began to register that they were on a public street, albeit deserted. He begrudgingly decided that they should start heading to the inn. Ren kissed Nora gently along her neck and jaw and then gently kissed her on the lips before putting her down and pulling away. Nora looked disappointed. He looked at her lovingly.

"You are too hard to resist, but we need to get going. Maybe after we get some rest and some food we can do this again, in private." Ren kissed her head again.

"Fiiiine," Nora pouted, "But only if you make us pancakes, with syrup."

"I think that that is exactly the victory meal that we need. It has been months. After we get some rest we can go to the markets and get what we need." Ren promised.

"I love you, Ren."

"I love you too, Nora"

* * *

A/N I don't like doing these but tbh I could write more of this or I could just leave it here and write a different fic instead with multiple ships. So if you want more, let me know or if you like it the way is is, let me know. Thanks folks.


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